The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-29
UNIONPACIFIC'SH HISTORY.
CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS BEFORE
THE COMMITTEE.

Directors Gould and Dillon Believed
to Have Worked For the Best Inter-
ests OF the Road and Themselves
The Branches Not an Improbable
Investment.
New YORK, April 2S.-Charles Francis
Adams President of the Union Pacific Rail
way Company, was before the Pacific Rail
road Commission to-day Mr. Adams said
he had been President of the Union Pacific
'oad three years, and knew great deal
about the road and its management and
working during his Presidency, but knew
almost nothing about it prior to that time.
Il was not his business to look into the his
tory Of the different roads, but to post him
self on the consolidated road. He had heard
vague stories that Directors Gould and Dill
ion had so complicated affairs that they
were in debt to the company. Mr.. Adams
had Investigated these charges, but he was
lot permitted to state his conclusions.
BOTH ACTED ON THE SQUARE.
Later in the day, however, while speaking
Of one of the branch roads which came into
possession of the Union Pacific by purchase.
Mr.. Adams wished TO state that the stock was
bought in open market by Messrs. Gould
and Dillon He believed from careful
scrutiny that Messrs. Gould and Dillon had
always been more than fair to the company.
He believed that they had per-
sonal interest III the Union Pacific so
strong that they had always
been rather over scrupulous in their transac-
tions with or for the company. Mr.. Adams
told how different branches had been ac-
quired by the Union Pacific Some had
been built by and for his company, some
mad been built as competitors and been
bought out, some had been purchased after
completion or while in process of construc-
tion to prevent their falling into rival hands
and some had been forced upon the Union
Pacific by various compulsory causes.
GOOD TO CONTROL
Some of these branches were profitable in
themselves, some paid expenses and no more,
while others ran behind, but he regarded ali
of them as most profitable in creating bust
ness for the main line He estimated that
S., 100000 of the revenue of the company
was derived from business over the branch
lines. His company owns 1900 miles of
narrow gauge road, but the policy of the
company was to substitute broad gauge as
fast as possible. Mr.. Adams had poor
opinion of roads built exclusively to accom-
modate mining localities, of which his com
pany has several among its branches. Min
ing railroads is species of gambling While
the mines last they are exceedingly prohta-
bic. When they give out you have your
road as a dead load on your hands. Roads
through agricultural country he thought
well of.
GoULD's SCHEME.
Being asked to give history OF several of
the branches, Mr.. Adams said: 'The history
of all is about the same. You can take them
up in their order. Mr. Gould had a grand
scheme of developing an active railway sys-
TEN West of Omaha, st. Joseph and Kan
sas City by which deliveries were to be
made to roads running to Chicago and st.
Louis Part of this scheme was the pur-
chase of the Kansas Central, which ran
along the Northern part of Kansas. Part of
its central branch was subsidized. but there
were many branches feeding it which were
not subsidized. His scheme contemplated
the tapping of Texas, New Mexico and the
whole West. Afterwards Mr.. Gould got in
terested in other matters and dropped this
scheme.
THE FIRST COST UNKNOWN.
Mr.. Adams could not tell the first cost of
construction of the Union Pacific 1t was
before the witness was connected with it.
Ii was built in the most extravagant man
ner possible. The branch system of the
Union Pacific had been elaborated at enor-
nous expense, and every dollar of that
money might just as well have been paid
into the pockets of the stockholders in divi-
dends The branches Of the road were pay
ing so it would seem for while they made
deficits in themselves, it was fact that they
fed the maiE line with business on which
large profits were made. Considering this
the branches were making money.
DRIVEN INTO OUTSIDE SCHEMES.
The company had gone into outside en-
terprises not always successfully. The road
was driven into schemes to develop this or
that industry by the press and people They
camored and cried that the road was not
enterprising, and was ungrateful if il did
not go into these schemes and then de-
nounced the road for its recklessness when
one of them failed. Mr.. Adams said that
he did not know of an instance where q
director, officer or employe of the Union
Pacific had any interest in any contract
with the Union Pacific.